Bands set to battle for charity in Bellaire

Event serves as fundraiser for men's club

ROBIN FOSTER, CHRONICLE CORRESPONDENT

Published 5:30 am, Thursday, October 21, 2010

In just days, Westbury Square transforms into a venue for rock music. But planning for the annual Bellaire Men's Club Battle of the Bands charity concert began months ago for Evan Landry and his dad Troy, who lend a bit more than elbow grease to this year's production.

Both Landrys are musicians able to share their talent and band experience with the high school groups that take the stage beginning at noon Saturday, Oct. 30, on the historic square at West Bellfort and Burdine.

Evan, who is co-chair of the event with fellow BMC member Austin Sepluveda, initially took charge of ad sales for the event's program. But his music background, along with support from his mom Aurora and Troy, a guitar and bass player since his high school days for local bands Bone Deep, Vision and Idol Hand, has helped Evan ease into more responsibilities for the concert.

Father and son helped Aaron Wernick, a senior member of BMC, with auditions last summer. Now, Evan is a liaison with the competing bands and is helping with everything from ticket sales to stage set-up and will host at the event. Troy is managing sound for the concert.

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"It's actually going really well. It's all falling into place as we're feeling the urgency of it getting closer," Evan said.

Maximus, a classic rock cover band, will open the concert, followed by five bands whose members attend area high schools. General admission is $7 ($5 for BMC members), and all proceeds will go to SEARCH Homeless Services, a long-time benefactor of BMC's community service mission.

Evan knows a few of the musicians from middle school, when he played guitar and sang in his own band. He even attended a rock band camp after eighth grade. Now a junior at Bellaire High, Evan plays middle linebacker for the Fighting Cardinals, but he still finds time for music, occasionally filling in when Troy's band practices and dabbling with some song writing in his dad's home studio.

"I can still do it as a hobby, but I can't always do football," he said. "Battle of the Bands is a great experience, something I can use toward college and in my future life."

And as luck would have it, Troy is currently between bands and free to provide equipment and manage sound for this year's concert.

A facilities manager for a retail department store, Troy said playing in a band is his passion. Followers of Houston's music scene likely remember Bone Deep, which won a Battle of the Bands at Fitzgerald's in 1984 with its original bluesy rock. Troy played guitar, then bass during the band's revival in 2002-03. He also had a band called Vision, and until recently, he was bass player for Idol Hand, which played at Discovery Green in June and split for various career and family reasons.

He's excited to work with this younger generation of bands.

"It's pretty neat, especially in a Battle of the Bands where you have six bands, each with a different sound, so it is challenging. You don't know what to expect until they hit that first note and you have to adjust for it."

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In the past, concerts like this got by using smaller equipment. Now, the event is larger, and the bands are more intense, Troy said.

"It's going to be exciting to see these guys come out and perform. First it's for charity, but also it's to win the Battle of the Bands," he said. "I think they're really excited about it. They're going in knowing what to expect and knowing what they're going to get out of it. My job is just to make them sound good."